Abstract

AbstractThe contribution to growth from the steam engine—Industrial Revolution icon and prime example of a “General Purpose Technology”—has remained unclear. This article examines the role that a particular design improvement in steam power, embodied in the Corliss engine, played in the growth of the U.S. economy in the late nineteenth century. Using detailed data on the location of Corliss engines and waterwheels and a two-stage estimation strategy, we show that the deployment of Corliss engines served as a catalyst for the industry's massive relocation into large urban centers, thus fueling agglomeration economies and further population growth.

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File URL:http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/pdf/10.1142/9789814273596_0006Download Restriction: Ebook Access is available upon purchase.File URL:http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789814273596_0006Download Restriction: Ebook Access is available upon purchase.

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